Department for Transport

Passengers: Coronavirus

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a requirement, once possible, for air, sea and rail passengers arriving in England to have had a vaccination against COVID-19 as an alternative to such passengers being required to have a recent negativetest result before entry.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government wants to open up international travel in a responsible and safe manner as set out in the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce Report, and we will continue to be guided by the science including whether COVID-19 vaccines could be used to facilitate international travel in future. We are working with partner countries on a range of issues to ensure an internationally recognised approach to enable travel.

Motor Vehicles: Air Pollution

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of air pollution from motor vehicles since the restrictions put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic were eased in August 2020.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Despite increases in some areas as March lockdown measures eased, average roadside NO2 concentrations are below levels observed in the previous 3 years. We continue our ambitious plans to improve air quality with our Clean Air Strategy, tackling NO2 pollution and increasing active travel. Government continues working in partnership with local authorities to help them deliver Clean Air Zones. The Environment Bill will enable greater local action for tackling air pollution.

Shipping: Radio Frequencies

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Goldie on 10 December 2020 (HL10934), what tests they have conductedwith British merchant ships contacting UK maritime authorities using (1) High Frequency, or (2) Single Side Band, radio communications from the (a) North Atlantic, (b) South Atlantic, (c) Indian, and (d) Pacific, oceans since the closure of Portishead radio station.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has not conducted any specific testing of radiocommunications with UK merchant ships. Under the Safety of Life At Sea Convention, it is the responsibility of operators of merchant ships to ensure that those ships carry communications equipment that is consistent with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which provides an internationally operated maritime communications service. UK-registered and regulated ships must have radio installations capable of GMDSS communications to shore for their sea areas of operation. In ocean regions they may choose to have either High Frequency (HF) radio or satellite communications, and in polar regions HF is mandatory.

Department of Health and Social Care

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further tothe Dynamic CO-CIN report to SAGE and NERVTAG (recent cases) and the Dynamic CO-CIN report to SAGE and NERVTAG (all cases), publishedon 29 September, that illustrated inpatient proportion and onset occurrence of hospital acquired COVID-19 since March,what criteria they used to assess (1) the ethicalissues, and (2) the clinical safety of vulnerable communities, whendeciding to continueto discharge patients into care homes duringthe COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Bethell: The Department, working with Public Health England and the National Health Service, continue to closely monitor the emerging domestic and international evidence, and keep our policies under continuous review. Throughout the pandemic, it has continued to be our priority to ensure that people are discharged safely from hospital to the most appropriate place and that they receive the care and support they need.All individuals must be tested, and receive their result, prior to discharge from hospital to a care home. Building on the commitments of the Adult Social Care Winter Plan, we are working with the Care Quality Commission and the NHS to ensure that anyone testing positive is discharged to a designated setting that is assured to be able to provide safe care. No care home should be forced to admit an existing or new resident to the care home if they do not feel they can provide the appropriate care.

Asthma

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve asthma outcomes.

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of asthma on the lives of (1) those with the disease, and (2) their families.

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the incidence of asthma in the UK.

Lord Bethell: The NHS Long Term Plan set out the commitments and objectives for the National Health Service for the next 10 years.  The plan includes respiratory disease as a national clinical priority, with the overarching objective of improving outcomes for people with respiratory disease, including asthma.  This includes early and accurate diagnosis of respiratory conditions like asthma to provide the opportunity for better management which can help prevent exacerbations and avoidable emergency admissions.NHS England and NHS Improvement have established 13 respiratory clinical networks across the country, to provide clinical leadership of respiratory services. One of their objectives focuses on improving clinical pathways for asthma. The Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) ensures all general practitioner (GP) practices establish and maintain a register of patients with an asthma diagnosis in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s guidance. An update to the GP Contract for 2020/21-2023/24 to be implemented in 2021 includes an improved QOF asthma domain. The content of the asthma review has been amended to incorporate aspects of care positively associated with better patient outcomes and self-management, including a review of inhaler technique and record of exacerbations.

Palliative Care: Health Services

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional funding they plan to allocate to (1)hospice, and (2) palliative, care services in the next five years.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the future sustainability of the hospice sector.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of funding for hospices.

Lord Bethell: The Department recognises that the hospice sector has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that subsequent social distancing measures have affected some aspects of community fundraising. We regularly assess the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the hospice sector and through NHS England and NHS Improvement are in regular discussions with stakeholders in the sector about the challenges they face. A range of steps have been taken to support hospices.We have provided over £150 million in additional funding to the hospice sector to date during the pandemic. Alongside this, hospices have benefited from the financial support offered by Her Majesty’s Treasury to all charities, such as paying no business rates for their shops next year and applying for a Business Interruption Loan.We continue to keep funding for hospices under review.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether testsundertaken as part ofplans to introduce same day mass testing for COVID-19 in England will be free at the point of delivery.

Lord Bethell: All testing carried out by National Health Service Test and Trace is free at the point of delivery.

NHS: Compensation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the NHS Redress Act 2006 in resolving clinical negligence claims.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the NHS Redress Act 2006.

Lord Bethell: The Department is working intensively with the Ministry of Justice, other Government departments and NHS Resolution to address the costs of clinical negligence claims. We will publish a consultation on the next steps in 2021.The Department has no plans to implement the NHS Redress Act 2006 and has not made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the Act in resolving clinical negligence claims.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all those who were displaced due to the fire at Grenfell Tower are in permanent residential accommodation.

Lord Greenhalgh: All 201 households from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk have accepted an offer of accommodation, and over 95% (194 households) have moved into a new permanent home. Those households not in permanent homes, are currently living in high quality temporary accommodation; these households have either already accepted a permanent home, or have a suitable permanent home reserved for them. The Council is working with these households at a pace that suits them.

Building Safety Fund

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Building Safety Fund imposes restrictions on recipients communicating with journalists about repairs without prior written approval; and, if so, why.

Lord Greenhalgh: The building safety fund does not impose restrictions on leaseholders or residents in their private capacity as individual flat owners commenting on remediation projects or government policy. Funding agreements for the fund include a clause which is standard in commercial agreements between building owners and funders of construction of work which applies to communication with the media about the individual construction project. The clause applies to applicants to the fund who we expect to discuss with delivery partners in the first instance any queries about the remediation project or the funding agreement. We want a constructive working relationship with building owners who apply to the fund, which ensures that the Government’s provision of £1.6 billion of funding will make buildings safe for residents as swiftly as possible.

Homelessness

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people who are (1) homeless, and (2) rough sleeping.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government is clear that no one should be without a roof over their head. That is why we are spending over £700 million this year and will be spending over £750 million next year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, further demonstrating the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping.The latest homelessness and rough sleeping data can be found (attached) on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.  Rough sleeping snap shot (pdf, 1864.2KB)

Building Safety Bill (Draft)

Lord Tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards preparing the Building Safety Bill for introduction into Parliament.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Building Safety Bill was published in draft on 20 July 2020 and has recently undergone pre-legislative scrutiny by the HCLG Select Committee. We are currently considering the Committee’s report and recommendations and will introduce the Bill in due course. We recognise that these are important public safety measures; that is why the Government is committed to progressing the Bill as quickly as possible, so that reforms can be implemented in a timely manner and residents can feel safe, and be safe, in their homes.

Leasehold: Reform

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response byLord Greenhalgh on 5 January (HL Deb, col 11), whether they plan to introduce legislation relating to leasehold reform by 2022.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government remains committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service.Legislation will be brought forward in the second session of Parliament, to set future ground rents to zero. This is the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. We will bring forward a response to the remaining Law Commission recommendations, including commonhold, in due course.

Housing: Construction

Lord Young of Cookham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the consultation paper by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentRaising Accessibility standards for New Homes, published on 8 September 2020, when they plan to publish a response; and what plans they have to align the mandatory baseline for accessibility standards for new homes with the accessible and adaptable standard.

Lord Greenhalgh: Evidence gathered by the consultation on raising accessibility standards for new homes will help government consider whether to mandate a higher baseline accessibility standard or to reconsider the way existing optional standards are used. We are currently analysing responses and will publish a government response in due course.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ethiopia: Humanitarian Situation

The Lord Archbishop of York: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in Tigray; and what steps they are taking in response to any such assessment.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has been at the forefront, liaising closely with the UN and partners, in calling for sustained, free and unfettered humanitarian access across Tigray, in line with the guiding principles laid down by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Two joint UN and Government of Ethiopia assessment missions to Tigray have taken place, with assessment reports expected soon. We continue to press for the supply of humanitarian assistance to all those who need it. UK supported live-saving assistance including health, nutrition, non food items (such as blankets, shelter and cooking equipment) and water and sanitation has reached some of the conflict affected areas.We continue to work with the UN to promote and monitor access and the delivery of humanitarian support to all those who need it, including to civilians in contested areas.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Recruitment

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Goldie on 3 November 2020 (HL9440), what resources are available for training new officers in the British Armed Forces to identify those under their command who are experiencing financial difficulties caused by gambling.

Baroness Goldie: Trainee Officers in the UK Armed Forces are provided with briefing to identify the various indicators that personnel under their command may be experiencing financial difficulties, including those caused by gambling. We also provide our Officers with briefings from the Royal British Legion MoneyForce initiative which aim to assist all Service personnel, their partners, families and dependants, to be better equipped to manage their money and financial affairs. When problem-gambling is identified, Officers are equipped with information and advice on where to signpost their personnel to receive help, including through specialist military welfare staffs (SSAFA), Service charities, the NHS Problem Gambling Clinic, Gamcare, the Gordon Moody Association and Gamblers Anonymous. Officers can also signpost their personnel to the Joining Forces Credit Union which supplies bespoke products to move Service personnel away from Payday Loan Companies. Joint Forces Credit Union has also set up a specific COVID-19 support package. In addition, The Money and Pensions Service have also run a financial awareness campaign with the British Forces Broadcasting Service to highlight everything from savings/loans to pensions.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: USA

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of the United States about any future trading relationship.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The incoming US administration is currently in the process of nominating members of its Cabinet and appointing senior staff. In line with previous practice, the transition team is limiting foreign government contact with the President-elect’s appointees and nominees ahead of the inauguration and (where applicable) Senate confirmation process. We look forward to working closely with the new team following the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on 20th January. Department for International Trade (DIT) Ministers also engage senior US political figures on a bipartisan basis, including recent discussions on UK-US trade negotiations held between the Secretary of State and Senator Wyden (Dem) and Senator Portman (Rep). Round five of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and US concluded on 30 October 2020. It was the most intensive round of negotiations held so far, with a significant proportion of legal text agreed across multiple chapters.